St. John the Baptist Catholic Church

Where Stewardship is a Way of Life

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January 29, 2023

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FROM THE OFFICE…

A Loss or Gain?

How has last week’s news been sitting with you? Did the news come as a surprise, or have you seen it coming? Are you fearing what we might lose as a parish, or excited about what we might gain? Are you anxious to get started thinking about change, or are you hoping we can put it off even longer?

Many of you know that I lost my parish home in Seattle to closure last year. My experience of that process led me to dread what was coming for the rest of the church. Closing parishes felt to me like cutting off the fingers and toes of the Body of Christ.

Instead, I am hopeful. At the convocation of pastors and parish leadership on January 18, we celebrated Mass and prayed for the Holy Spirit to enliven and guide our work. We connected with one another. Finally, we heard the message you heard last Sunday. The Archdiocese is no longer looking for limbs to cut off. Instead, our parishes are like small streams merging with one another on their journey to a large and powerful river. Merge with one another and into the river we must, or we risk stagnating or even drying up; for our social climate, it is a ‘changin’. We are better when we journey together.

We do not yet know what we will be leaving behind on this journey. We do know that we need all of us “in the water” together. What we are being asked to do is similar to what we were asked to do in 1991 when we created this parish called St. John the Baptist. No matter what we gain and what we lose in the process, in the end, we will have created something new.

For ongoing information about Partners in the Gospel, and answers to frequently asked questions, check our home page at sjtbcc.org.

Kathy Wickward

February 22

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Ash Wednesday is an obligatory day of fasting and abstinence for Catholics aged 18-59. The Norms of fasting permit Catholics to eat one full meal and two smaller meals that together would not make a full meal. Abstinence from meat is the norm for Catholics 14 and older.

Why-Ashes

January 22, 2023

Pastor's Corner, Uncategorized

When Do You Make the Sign of the Cross? A couple of weeks ago, when I was teaching an RCIA Class on the Mass, the question emerged about when we make the Sign of the Cross. The Catholics in the group shared how they were trained to make the Sign of the Cross multiple times. It may surprise you when and when not the rubrics call for the Sign of the Cross. Here is a little quiz. Answer Yes or No to the following if you should make the sign of the cross during these portions of the Mass. The Answer Key is someplace in the bulletin. 1. Anyone entering the church using holy water makes the sign of the cross on themselves. 2. The priest, putting incense in the thurible, makes the sign of the cross over the incense. 3. Anyone, making a genuflection, makes the sign of the cross on themselves. 4. All, at the beginning of Mass while saying “In the Name of the Father,” makes the sign of the cross on themselves. 5. All, when the priest says, “May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins…” makes the sign of the cross on themselves. 6. When the priest sprinkles with water, all makes the sign of the cross on themselves. 7. Priest or deacon, before adding water to the wine, makes the sign of the cross over the water. 8. Priest, holding a particle of the host just before dropping it into the chalice, makes the sign of the cross over the chalice. 9. Any minister of communion holding the host and saying “The Body of Christ.” 10. Anyone, after receiving Communion, makes the sign of the cross on themselves. 11. The priest, when saying the final blessing, makes the sign of the cross over the people. 12. The people, hearing the final blessing, makes the sign of the cross on themselves. 13. Anyone leaving the church using holy water makes the sign of the cross on themselves. I must admit – when I took this quiz, I did not score 100%. I share this quiz with you just to acknowledge we so easily add things to the liturgy. It becomes a problem when individual gestures begin to weaken the expression of unity or draws attention to an individual. This quiz comes from Fr. Paul Turner’s book, In these or Similar Words.

When Do You Make the Sign of the Cross?
A couple of weeks ago, when I was teaching an RCIA Class on the Mass, the question emerged about when we make the Sign of the Cross. The Catholics in the group shared how they were trained to make the Sign of the Cross multiple times. It may surprise you when and when not the rubrics call for the Sign of the Cross. Here is a little quiz. Answer Yes or No to
the following if you should make the sign of the cross during these portions of the Mass. The Answer Key is someplace in the bulletin.
1. Anyone entering the church using holy water makes the sign of the cross on themselves.
2. The priest, putting incense in the thurible, makes the sign of the cross over the incense.
3. Anyone, making a genuflection, makes the sign of the cross on themselves.
4. All, at the beginning of Mass while saying “In the Name of the Father,” makes the sign of the cross on
themselves.
5. All, when the priest says, “May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins…” makes the sign
of the cross on themselves.
6. When the priest sprinkles with water, all makes the sign of the cross on themselves.
7. Priest or deacon, before adding water to the wine, makes the sign of the cross over the water.
8. Priest, holding a particle of the host just before dropping it into the chalice, makes the sign of the cross
over the chalice.
9. Any minister of communion holding the host and saying “The Body of Christ.”
10. Anyone, after receiving Communion, makes the sign of the cross on themselves.
11. The priest, when saying the final blessing, makes the sign of the cross over the people.
12. The people, hearing the final blessing, makes the sign of the cross on themselves.
13. Anyone leaving the church using holy water makes the sign of the cross on themselves.

I must admit – when I took this quiz, I did not score 100%. I share this quiz with you just to acknowledge we so easily add things to the liturgy. It becomes a problem when individual gestures begin to weaken the expression of unity or draws attention to an individual. This quiz comes from Fr. Paul Turner’s book, In these or Similar Words.

January 15, 2023

Pastor's Corner, Uncategorized

Even Priests Go On Vacation!
I am heading down to Florida for two weeks to see my mom and give my older sister and her husband an opportunity to travel and visit friends in another part of the country.
When my parents needed a little extra care, my older sister opened her home to them. The rest of us siblings committed to offering whatever support we could – even if it means spending two weeks in sunny Florida during the dark, cold month of January.
While I am there, I am planning on cooking with my mom and learning some of the family recipes, including her wonderful liver and onions. For some reason, I am the only one of the kids who seems to like it. There are also some great desserts I hope to master.
I will be gone from January 20 through February 2. Fr. Jim Coyne, our retired pastor, will be presiding at the Sunday liturgies.

January 8, 2023

Pastor's Corner, Uncategorized

Did you notice anything different about the calendar this year?
When Christmas falls on a Sunday, things get rearranged. The feast of the Holy Family is usually on the Sunday between Christmas and New Year’s. No Sunday in between these solemnities this year, so the Feast of the Holy Family got moved to Friday, December 30. The Feast of the Lord’s Baptism also gets moved. This year it is on Monday, January 9, which brings the Christmas season to its conclusion.
The Feast of the Lord’s Baptism is the day we also celebrate our parish anniversary. We rearrange that as well and celebrate on the Solemnity of the Epiphany. With the visit of the Magi, Christ is revealed to the world. We, too, are called to reveal Christ to the world. One way we do that is by being people of Joy.
This year, we would like to offer every parish household a little book about joy and ways to foster it. There are many things that would rob us of joy. We need to be intentional in nurturing it. In this book, Chris Stefanick gives nine rules to rediscover and live joy. After reading this book, let me know if you can come up with a tenth rule that helps you be joyful.